WHO Warns: Numerous Diseases Arise as a Consequence of Loneliness
One in six people in the world suffers from loneliness, which – along with social isolation – can lead to the development of numerous physical illnesses, ultimately resulting in 871,000 deaths annually worldwide, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO) commission.
Loneliness increases the risk of stroke and heart attack, the development of diabetes, depression, anxiety, and, ultimately, suicide, the WHO reported.
It has been recorded that lonely teenagers are 22 percent more likely to achieve lower grades in school compared to their peers who are not lonely. At the same time, lonely adults find it more difficult to get and keep a job – reports N1.
The impact of loneliness is not only individual but also social – reflected in billions of costs for the functioning of healthcare systems and job losses.
The co-chair of the WHO commission, Vivek Murthy, defines loneliness as “a painful, subjective feeling that many of us experience when the relationships we need do not match the ones we have.” In contrast, social isolation represents an objective state of having fewer contacts, relationships, or interactions.
According to the report, in today’s world, one in three elderly people and one in four adolescents live in social isolation.
The causes of this include numerous illnesses, poor education, low income, lack of opportunities for social interaction, living alone, and excessive reliance on digital technologies.
Murthy emphasizes that for thousands of years, people have been accustomed to communicating not only with words, but also with facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, or even silence – forms of communication that are lost when people rely solely on mobile phones and social media.
